Manafort defense questions star witness Gates about 'secret life'

08 August, 2018, 20:28 | Author: Ted Wilson

Gates admitted to a litany of crimes Tuesday as Downing, Manafort's lead defense attorney, hammered him for enriching himself on his boss's dime, executing tax evasion and bank fraud schemes of his own, and lying to the special counsel's investigators.

Mr Downing forced Gates to admit he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort by filing bogus personal expenses claims and that he had engaged in an extramarital affair and kept an apartment in London for that goal.

Paul Manafort was concerned after a 2014 Federal Bureau of Investigation interview that one of the companies used to pay the former Trump campaign chairman for his Ukrainian political consulting work wasn't "clean". Prosecutors allege that he failed to pay taxes on millions he made from his work for a Russia-friendly Ukrainian political party, then lied to get loans when the cash stopped coming in.

Gates testified Tuesday that Manafort hit the roof when faced with an enormous tax bill.

Downing said his point was not that Gates cheated on his wife but that "he was leading a separate secret life from Mr. Manafort and from others" and that he embezzled from his boss to fund that lifestyle.

In blistering questioning, a defense lawyer accused the protege of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of being immersed in "so many lies" he can't remember them all, as he tried to undermine the credibility of the government's star witness in Manafort's fraud trial.

"Like, Manafort must have been so mad but also at the same time so proud".

Gates (46) admitted he had embezzled from other employers; he had volunteered the information once he began cooperating. But Gates pleaded guilty months later and agreed to cooperate in Mueller's investigation of Manafort, the only American charged by the special counsel to opt for trial instead of a guilty plea.

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"I'm here to tell the truth", Gates replied. From 9:30 am until just after 3 pm, Gates corroborated the testimony of Manafort's bookkeeper and two accountants from the days before, along with prosecutors' evidence.

Both Manafort and Gates were indicted past year on charges of bank and tax fraud as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe. "Mr. Manafort had the same path".

During a series of redirect questions on Wednesday, Manafort's attorney Kevin Downing asked Gates if he remembers telling special counsel Robert MuellerRobert Swan MuellerSasse: US should applaud choice of Mueller to lead Russian Federation probe MORE's office that he had four extramarital affairs.

Gates said he and Manafort turned to a Cypriot lawyer, whom he referred to in court as "Dr K", who set up bank accounts and shell companies on Manafort's behalf and "handled everything". When Gates had prepared the transaction, he would run the final logistics by Manafort.

But then prosecutor Greg Andres invoked Trump's name, and Gates' and Manafort's work on the campaign became more explicitly tied to the alleged crimes at the heart of the trial. "In reality, it was basically money moving between accounts", Gates said. But Trump has shown interest in the proceedings, tweeting support for Manafort and suggesting he has been treated worse than gangster Al Capone. The email exchange occurred after Manafort left the Trump campaign but while Gates was active on the Trump inauguration committee.

Manafort to Gates in 2016, doctoring numbers in a financial statement.

After saying Monday that he committed crimes with Manafort, including concealing offshore accounts to avoid reporting them to the US government at tax time and claiming false income to get loans, Manafort defense attorney Kevin Downing asked the witness, "This jury is just supposed to believe you after all the lies that you've told and the fraud you've committed?" He frequently used the phrases "It's possible" and "I don't recall" as Downing challenged him about inconsistencies in testimony he gave to the special counsel's office.

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